#Editing 13: Print After Ebook?

Paperback - soon to be available

Pilgrims of the Pool is finished - except for the paperback.

The ebook edition has been out about ten days, and many thanks to all my readers who have re-Tweeted, shared my Facebook announcement, and even bought a copy. I do appreciate the help to get it noticed. As expected, one of the responses has been Where's the print version?

Mainstream publishers tend to launch print versions first, hardback, then paperback. Sometimes the ebook comes last, sometimes along with one of the print versions. The publishers' main intention is to maximise profit. Prior to the hardback release the publisher will have sent out ARCs (advance reading copies) aimed to maximise sales by having reviews ready to hit publications and retail sites on launch day.

Well-organised indie authors also send out ARCs to their 'street team' volunteers for exactly the same reason, gathering responses to quote on book covers. This takes some forward thinking, and when have I been so organised as to work that many months in advance?

Therefore I launch the ebook, promote it heavily for around a fortnight, and then start to check and format for print. By the time I've completed this I hope to have the first reviews in to be able to quote snippets, with permission, on the backblurb and the inside cover. As I key in this blog I already have two 5-star reviews up on Amazon, for which I am very grateful.

A note on formatting for print. Most publishers simply use a single formatted copy for both, but ebook and print are two different sized reading experiences. Print can comfortably carry longer paragraphing, whereas an ebook is usually read on a smaller screen. And who wants solid text margin-to-margin? The added benefit is that the novel gets yet another proofread en route.

So that's the state of play at the moment. When Pilgrims of the Pool is available as a print copy, I'll let you know.

See also: 

Editing-1: What Does Editing Actually Mean?
Editing-2: The Structural Edit

Editing-3: The Content Edit

Editing-4: The Line Edit
Editing-5: Line Edit Update 

Editing-6: Beta Readers 

Editing-7: Metadata 

Editing-8: Beyond Beta Readers
Editing-9: Writing in a Circle
Editing-10: Polishing the Novel
Editing-10A: Scheduling Hiccup
Editing-11: Scales Falling From My Eyes
Editing-12: Ebook Launch!